


Sins Of Our Past

by Traveller_In_Spacetime



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-08 13:18:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13459071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Traveller_In_Spacetime/pseuds/Traveller_In_Spacetime
Summary: Events initially seem mostly like they are running in the same way as the canon story of Persona 4. However, things soon take a rather different twist...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the first chapter it may seem that I'm just retelling Persona 4, but it will soon become evident what is different and why this story carries the name it does...

A pair of yellow eyes snapped open to a soft blue light, taking in the scene they found themselves in. The young man who the eyes belonged to seemed strangely calm, as if this was not an unexpected situation to find himself in, despite never having been where he was before. He was seated in a limo, upholstered comfortably in blue velvet and fitted with a few necessary luxuries. Towards the other end of the limo sat two people who appeared to be an old man, and a woman whose age he could not determine. After what could have been a moment, an eternity, or anywhere in between, the old man opened his eyes to stare past the length of his unusually long nose to look at his guest. The slim black suit the old man wore seemed earthly enough, but the eyes seemed wholly supernatural. They were large and bloodshot, and the stare they gave felt as if it could pierce the soul and scrutinise its inner workings.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists in a realm between the light and dark, between redemption and damnation. This plane of twilight goes by many names, but you might know it as Purgatory. Those in Purgatory are never there without a reason, the velvet room even more so. It seems that a particularly extraordinary destiny awaits you, guest.” The man’s voice was sharp but smooth, and even though it clearly came from the grin of his moving mouth, it also echoed in the mind like a voice in the head.

“Like the realm and the room in which we sit, I am also known by many names. However, for the purposes of our time here, you may call me Igor. And what should I call you, guest of the velvet room?” Igor’s words pierced right through to some instinctive part of the young man’s mind, causing him to respond without hesitation.

“Yu Narukami,” he said, before his brow creased slightly at realising that he had not made the conscious decision to answer Igor’s question.

“Excellent,” Igor said, his broad grin growing somehow even wider. “Now, let me introduce you to my assistant, Margaret. Like myself, she is a resident of Purgatory, and she will be assisting you on your journey.” The woman to his right smiled as she bowed her head slightly. She looked as if she would be tall when standing, and had a slender build sat in a very comfortable but formal pose. She was clad in a the same blue as the interior of the limo, the belt around her middle held closed by a large gold buckle.

“Greetings. I shall be offering you guidance and advice during your time here. I hope my assistance will prove of use to you.” As she spoke she slowly traced the V on the front of the heavy leather book which sat on her lap with one hand. Yu suddenly felt as though he’d been released from some sort of spell, as he found himself shaking his head and clutching the top of his nose.

“What the hell… What is actually going on here? Why am I here? Why is Purgatory a limo?” Yu tilted his head back in a state of confusion. Igor chuckled and spread his hands apart with upward-facing palms.

“You shall come to understand all in time. For now, be content in the fact that we shall see you again soon enough, and when we do, you shall know a little more than when you leave today. In the meantime, think back on how you have ended up where you are today.” With that, Igor brought his hands back together and closed his eyes again. When Igor’s eyelids closed completely, Yu felt himself begin to lose his grip on sensation in the Velvet room, slowly slipping away into unconsciousness.

 

/ / / / /

 

Yu awoke exactly where he'd thought he'd gone to sleep - the bed in his room in the Dojima household. Ryotaro and Nanako Dojima were Yu’s uncle and cousin from his mother's side, and so had offered to take him in when his parents had needed someone to look after him while they had to work abroad for a year. This brief moment of reflection reminded Yu of what Igor had said in that strange Velvet Room;

“Think back on how you have ended up where you are today.”

The phrase was cryptic, but that seemed to be Igor’s style when it came to explanation. Yu decided that, even if the whole experience had been a dream, dreams were often symbolic, and so it couldn't hurt to think about everything that had happened up to that point.

A few months ago, Yu’s parents had landed a very well paying job for a year, but not wanting to interrupt his education in Japan, they had asked among friends and family if anyone would be happy to house him for the year. His uncle had offered to do it, and so just the previous day Yu had caught the train to Yasoinaba to be greeted at the other end by his uncle and shy little cousin. They had driven him back to their house and shown him his room, and after a quiet dinner kneeling around the low table whilst listening to the news, he had gone up to this room and fallen asleep. And then…

Yu shook his head. That certainly had been a strange dream. Purgatory? Velvet room? Igor? Where on earth in his mind had all those things come from? He decided that it was probably best not to dwell on it, and began to get himself ready for his first day of school. By the time he was ready to leave the house, his uncle was already long gone to work, so he said a brief goodbye to a still very shy Nanako, and began walking.

As he got closer to the school, Yu began to notice more and more students wearing the same uniform as himself accumulating in small groups. As he was looking idly at two girls who, unlike everyone else, were wearing coloured jackets, something barreled past him, almost knocking him over. The boy going out of control on his bicycle careened into an empty bin, somehow ending up inside it and struggling to get out. The girls in coloured jackets stopped and stared as Yu bent down and pulled the bin off of the boy. He stood up, straightening out his jacket and dyed brown hair, before turning to Yu with an awkward smile on his face.

“Thanks for helping me out of that mess,” he said, stretching out a hand, “I thought I was gonna be stuck in that bin for ages.” Yu took the outstretched hand and shook it before picking up his bag and walking off again. The boy quickly grabbed his own bag and his bike and hurried to catch up with Yu, pushing his chaotic hair out of his eyes again.

“I’m Yosuke Hanamura, pleasure to meet you.” Yu nodded with a slight grunt and didn’t answer, so Yosuke spoke up again; “So… What’s your name?”

“Yu Narukami,” Yu responded plainly, and kept walking. By this stage they had reached the two girls Yu had noticed earlier, who had stopped to watch Yosuke being pulled out of a bin. One was on the short side, had short hair died the same colour as Yosuke’s and wore a green sports jacket with yellow stripes around the middle. The way she carried herself made it feel like she would and could cause you a lot of pain if she wanted to. The other was taller with a much slimmer build and long black hair held back with a red headband. She wore a red jacket, and had a far more reserved attitude than her short green-clad counterpart, not quite looking at Yu directly. The girl in green spoke up first;

“Great cycling there Yosuke,” she said with a sarcastic tone, “You’re lucky this guy was there to pull you out. I was just gonna watch you try and get out yourself.” Yosuke looked a little hurt at this, but continued as if she hadn’t said anything. Apparently this was the normal state of affairs.

“Oh come on Chie, you know how old that bike is,” he responded, his voice also carrying some hurt to it, “But anyway, let’s have some introductions! Narukami, this is Chie Satonaka,” he said, indicating the girl in green, who was giving him a disapproving look, “And this is Yukiko Amagi,” he said as he indicated the other girl, who was looking at him silently.

“Yu Narukami. Nice to meet you.” Yu responded bluntly. Chie then spoke up, addressing Yu;

“So, Narukami, how come I haven’t seen you around before? I don’t know everyone in our year by name but I at least recognise their faces.”

“I’m a transfer student from Tokyo. I’m here for a year while my parents are working abroad.”

“Conversation not exactly your thing, huh,” Yosuke commented lightly, smiling a little. “I used to be a city kid too, but we had to move out here to the sticks when my dad got a job as the branch manager of the local Junes store. There’s not much to do out here, and half the town hates my family for encroaching on the businesses of small local stores.”

“Yeah, he gets a lot of crap for that at school,” Chie chipped in. “Pretty much everyone at school has always been local. At least Junes doesn’t affect the Amagi Inn.” At the mention of the name Amagi, Yu glanced at Yukiko quizzically, who turned her face away from him. Chie responded for her; “Yeah, Yukiko’s family owns and runs the local inn. They get a lot of business being pretty much the only place to stay around here, but that doesn’t mean they skimp on quality!” Yosuke chimed in too;

“Yeah, my family has stayed there once or twice, it’s really good. The hot springs are amazing.” All this talk of her family made Yukiko look away from everyone, and taking her shyness into account the other two dropped the subject and went on to giving Yu a verbal tour of the town.

Chie was deep into explaining the wonders of the various food stores in the shopping district when they reached the front gate of Yasogami High, the school Yu would be studying at for his year in Inaba. It was a fairly typical school building, constructed of boxy grey-white concrete and regular rectangular windows. The brick entrance porch and planter out front provided a pleasing accent to the view from the gate, helping to make the approaching students feel a bit calmer. As they entered the central hall of the school, Yu dug a piece of paper out of his trouser pocket, and read through the writing scrawled by his uncle’s hand.

“It says here that I’m in Class 2-2. Where is that?” Yosuke’s face brightened a little at hearing this.

“Oh, if you’re in 2-2 that means you’re in the same class as the three of us,” he said, placing one hand to his chest and gesturing the other towards Yukiko and Chie. “C’mon, let’s go claim seats before everyone else gets them.”

 

/ / / / /

 

Mr Morooka made Yu distinctly uncomfortable, which was honestly quite an achievement. His homeroom tutor had a hunched back, greasy hair, a ridiculous set of teeth, and an overall attitude which just made him unpleasant to be around.

“Now listen up you little brats,” Morooka began, solidifying Yu’s dislike for him immediately, “We’ve got ourselves a transfer student here. A wretched city boy, no less. Now don’t go getting any ides - you might think that just because he’s from the city he’ll be more interesting or smarter or something, but that’s all a bunch of crap. The bright lights and exhaust fumes and such muddle their brains, so I wouldn’t concern yourselves with him.” He turned his oily stare to Yu and sneered at him. “Go on then, introduce yourself.”

“I’m Yu Narukami. Nice to meet you all.” Yu had barely finished those words before Morooka interrupted again.

“All right, that’s enough. Just shut up and sit down you little prick.” Yu’s face remained impassive despite the harsh language, and he went and took the seat that he had claimed earlier next to Yosuke, with Chie and Yukiko seated behind them. Yosuke leaned towards him slightly and muttered loud enough for Yu to hear but not enough that it reached the front of the room;

“Everyone calls Morooka  _ King Moron _ behind his back. You can probably guess what. Anyway, don’t worry about being picked on because you’re the new city kind. He stopped doing that to me pretty quickly.” Yu gave his typical slight nod and grunt of confirmation that he’d understood, and continued to stare into space as Morooka ranted until the bell rang to mark the end of homeroom and the start of their first lesson. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious rumour comes up in conversation, leading to a shocking discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting interesting now...

The bell that signalled the end of the day caused Yosuke’s head to snap up from the desk where it had been resting. Yu glanced over to him and asked;

“Tired?” Yosuke groaned, heaving his shoulders before shoving all his things into his bag.

“A little bit. Working part-time at Junes does rather take it out of you. But mostly it’s school. I just can’t stay completely awake when I’m  _ this _ bored.” he shoved his chair back and stood up and was about to hoist his bag onto his shoulder before he seemed to remember something that made him stop and flinch slightly. He took a nervous look at Chie, who was standing at the back of the classroom taking to Yukiko, before taking something out of his bag and slowly walking over to her. Yu followed, watching out of curiosity as to why Yosuke was so nervous. Yosuke held out what appeared to be a DVD box to Chie, bowing his head slightly and speaking very quickly;

“Thanks very much for letting me borrow your Trial of the Dragon DVD Chie it was really good and I’m very sorry for this so I’ll buy you a new one OK I’m off now bye!” He tried to run out of the classroom but Chie stuck out a leg and tripped him up, causing him to land heavily on his front and sprawl out partway into the corridor. As Chie opened the box, a look of horror spread across her face, quickly followed by one of anger.

“You broke it?! You actually broke the disc?! Oh you’re gonna pay for this you idiot!” she yelled, swinging a kick squarely between his legs as he began to get up, the impact causing him to drop to the floor again groaning. Yu glanced at Yukiko as Chie continued to fume at the Yosuke curled up in pain on the floor. Much to his surprise, Yukiko was smiling a little at the sight of the pained Yosuke, but when she noticed Yu looking at her she turned her face away once more.

As the four students left the classroom, Yosuke and Chie still locked in verbal combat, Yu decided to try talking to Yukiko.

“Do you not like talking to people much?” he asked, causing Yukiko to turn away again. However, this time she took a deep breath in and turned back to him.

“I'm sorry for not talking to you sooner. I was worried that I’d say something wrong and lose the opportunity to make a friend, and so I wanted to wait and see what you were like.”

“It’s OK to be nervous,” Yu replied, a hint of kindliness in his voice and face, “I didn’t think anyone was going to talk to me, but Yosuke was friendly enough after I pulled him out of a trash can. I suppose that doing small things for people can help them like you.” Yukiko chuckled gently, and smiled at him.

“Yes, I suppose it can.” At this point the group had reached the front entrance of the school building and Yosuke and Chie had calmed down, so they all started walking side-by-side again as they had that morning. However, as they were about to pass through the gate, a boy stepped out in front of them, his eyes fixated on Yukiko. He had a slightly unnatural posture, a creepy half smile and a vacant stare that put the group on edge the moment he appeared. He walked up to Yukiko and grabbed her hand, and though she flinched away from him he held on.

“Yukiko!” he said in a voice that made it sound just a little like he wasn’t all there, “Yukiko Amagi! You’ll go to a movie with me, right?” At this advance Chie’s face became a picture of rage, but before she could do anything, Yukiko jerked her hand out of his sharply and clutched it back to her chest.

“Absolutely not! I have no interest in anyone in you, or anyone else for that matter.” Quite unlike when she had spoken to Yu earlier, her voice was sharp and annoyed, and she was clearly not having any of it.

“Why you little,” the boy began, but now Chie intervened, stepping up to him and shoving him hard, sending him staggering backwards.

“Leave Yukiko alone!” she snapped, hands on hips. “You heard Yukiko, she’s not interested, now scram!” The boy stared past her at Yukiko, his eyes full of malice.

“You bitch! You won’t forget the name Mitsuo Kubo!” He turned away and stalked off down a side street, leaving Yu to wonder what exactly had just happened. Luckily for him, Chie soon explained.

“Like half the guys in our year are into Yukiko, and I mean who can blame them. But every time one of them tries to ask her out, she just stone cold rejects them.” Yukiko blushed slightly and her voice took on a defensive tone.

“I am not some sort of unattainable prize! And as I told that creep who Chie just showed off, I'm not interested!” The frustration she felt seemed to have drawn her out of her shell for now, and so the group enjoyed idle chat for a while as they walked home. After a short while Yu felt the sudden unpleasant sensation of a raindrop falling right down the back of his neck, and moments later it was raining in earnest. Yosuke audibly groaned as he held his bag above his head, but even as Chie retreated further into her jacket, a thought seemed to dawn on her.

“You know, there’s been this rumour being around about this thing called the Midnight Channel. They say that on a rainy night, if you watch a TV that’s turned off, then you’ll see your soulmate.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Yosuke said dismissively, “It stopped making sense the instant you said the TV has to be  _ off _ .”

“Well I’m sorry you don’t believe it,  _ O wise one _ , and I did say it was a rumour. Not like I started it.” Chie gave an exaggerated shrug to emphasise her point, but something about the way she said it told Yu she was going to try it anyway. Yosuke was also avoiding looking at Chie all of a sudden, so Yu suspected that he was going to try it as well. After a moment, he decided that it couldn’t hurt for him to try it too.

 

/ / / / /

 

Yu, his cousin and his uncle were knelt around the table, as the TV chattered away quietly in the background. After a minute, Dojima stopped eating and looked at Yu, a slight expression of curiosity on his face.

“So, how was your first day at Yasogami High? Are you settling in well?” Yu looked up at him, his face as impassive as ever.

“School was fine. My homeroom tutor is unpleasant, but the student’s who I’ve talked to are pretty nice.” He glanced at Nanako, who had been staring at him but was suddenly fixated on her dinner. “Are you going to go to Yasogami too when you’re older?” Nanako continued to stare intently at her food, so Dojima chuckled, reaching over and lightly touching her shoulder to reassure her.

“It’s OK Nanako,” he said, his tone of voice carrying a gentleness that you would not expect of someone who looked as world-weary as him, “He’s your cousin. He won’t bite you.” He turned back to Yu with a similarly friendly smile on his face. “I remember him when he was younger than you are right now. He was always a quiet child, so I doubt that he’s going to question you endlessly.” Clearly Dojima’s reassurance worked, because Nanako looked shyly up at Yu before plucking up the courage to speak.

“Yeah, I’m going to go to your school when I’m older. I’ve seen it a few times, and it looks really big. All the boys and girls who go there are big too, like you.” Yu chuckled a little and smiled kindly at her.

“I’m sure that when you’re old enough to go to Yasogami you’ll be as big as I am now. After all, we’re cousins, and your dad is taller than my mum.” The conversation appeared to have broken the ice with Nanako, and she beamed back at Yu with a broad smile.

“Do you really think so?”

“I do, I think you’ll grow up to be tall and strong, like your dad.” At this, Nanako smiled brightly at Dojima too too, before she suddenly realised something and picked up the TV remote.

“It’s time for the news!” She said excitedly, tapping the volume button to make the news presenter who had just appeared on screen audible. While she did this, Dojima leaned over and talked to Yu in a slightly quieter voice;

“That might be the fastest I’ve ever seen Nanako open up to anyone, so I guess congratulations are in order. I think she’s really taken a shine to you.” Yu smiled at him before they both turned to watch the news with Nanako. They had started off with the weather, and the forecast said that it would be raining until about 1 am, after which a fog would set in until mid morning. After that, an image of a woman appeared on screen, accompanied by a banner which read “Reporter Gone Missing”.

“The well-known reporter of local origin, Ms. Mayumi Yamano, has gone missing overnight,” the presenter read out in a very matter-of-fact tone, “Ms. Yamano was found to be absent from her room at the local Amagi Inn this morning when an employee was checking on the inn’s patrons found that she was not present in here room, or anywhere else in the inn, despite a thorough search. Her coat and other possessions were still present in her room, so her reason for leaving unannounced and her destination remain a mystery. Due to Ms. Yamano’s status as a reporter, the police have determined to not investigate Ms. Yamano’s disappearance yet, but say they will release further word as events unfold.” As the presenters continued to list off other news items, Dojima sighed heavily.

“That woman’s presence in Inaba has been nothing but a headache for the police. She’s too controversial at the moment to go anywhere without causing a stir, especially here.”

“Why’s that?” Yu asked, thinking that he had clearly missed some piece of information.

“Well,” said Dojima as the news items continued to run in the background, “She’s been having an affair with Taro Namatame, a local politician who had been running for prime minister of all things before his affair was uncovered.”

“Ah, well it would make sense that people want to talk to her then,” Yu said, “Anyway, I think I’ll be heading off upstairs now. Thank you very much for the food.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Nanko,” Dojima responded, “After all, she put it together, didn’t you Nanko?” Nanko turned around for a moment, looking very pleased with herself.

“Yes I did!”

“Wow, that’s great!” Yu told her, “You’re very capable for you age. I’m off upstairs now, so I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Sleep well!” Nanko told him before turning her attention back to the TV.

“You too.”

 

/ / / / /

 

Yu blinked awake blearily to the repeated buzzing of his phone alarm. He flipped it open and checked the time - 11:58. All as planned. If the rumour Chie had heard was correct, in two minutes the old TV in his room would come on, despite being powered off at the wall. He sat down on the sofa opposite, waiting expectantly. Just when he thought it was about time to give up and go back to bed, the screen suddenly flickered to life, displaying the hazy image of a woman on a red-orange background. Yu moved closer to the TV to try and see the woman more clearly, and as he did so, he realised that the background was in fact one of flames. He began to reach his hand towards the screen then noticed a bright glowing line along the bottom of it. As his hand drew closer, the line grew brighter, until suddenly it turned into flame leaking right out of the screen. He froze, thinking that he surely must be hallucinating at this point, but as his hand hovered just inches from the screen, the flames began to work their way up it, pooling at the point where his fingers were directed. Before he could react, a tongue of fire leapt from the circle to his fingertips, quickly working its way up and engulfing his arm. Yu felt a very hot sensation, but not burning, before the flames retracted, pulling him with them, seemingly trying to drag him into the TV screen. As he pulled back against them, a voice sounded in his head. It was close to his own, but deeper and more ominous, with a very clear streak of malice to it.

“I am thou, and thou art I,” it said, and though it could not be seen, it evoked the image of a sinister grin. “I am thine past, the repressed self thou buried and wished to forget. Thou shalt be the first to acknowledge my existence and realise our potential.”

As the voice finished speaking, the flames instantly withdrew, releasing Yu from their grasp. He fell back, catching his head on the table behind him, causing him to black out as the TV went dark once more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inaba just got a lot more eventful, and just a little supernatural...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took forever to get here, school's been kicking my ass. Hope you enjoy this one!

Yu woke up to sunlight streaming through the window on to his face, accompanied by a pounding headache. He sat up from the floor, rubbing the back of his head as the events of midnight began to return to him. It seemed so surreal, and yet here he was having been knocked out against the table, just as he remembered having been after…

After he’d pulled his hand out of the TV. Surreal as it was, it was vivid in his mind, and wasn’t fading like a dream should. Did this mean that what he remembered happening last night was real? He determined to assume it was for now, and see where that led him. He got up, bleary-eyed, and began to get ready for the school day. Dojima had already left for work, so Yu sat down to breakfast with Nanko, the TV once again playing in the background. All of a sudden Nanko’s head shot upright to look at the TV, and when Yu turned around he could see that there was an advert playing for the Junes apartment store. As the ad wrapped up, it played the store’s own jingle, a friendly-sounding woman singing; “Every day’s great at your Junes!” Nanako smiled happily and echoed;

“Every day’s great at your Junes!” She turned to Yu, and tilted her head slightly to one side. “Do you know that song?”

“Yeah I know it,” Yu replied, “The Junes ad is on TV all over Japan, so I hear it a lot in the city too.” Yu sung the catch tune for himself, and Nanko’s face lit up even further.

“Ooh, ooh! Let’s sing it together!” she said excitedly, counting the two of them in in with her fingers;

“Every day’s great at your Junes!”

The result was harmonious, and regardless it pleased Nanko, who, having finished her breakfast, walked around the table and gave Yu a brief hug. “You’re going to school soon, aren’t you?” she asked him, matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Well, I hope you have a good day! I’ll see you later!” she said as she wandered off to her room, leaving Yu to finish eating and head off.

 

/ / / / /

 

The fog that had been mentioned the previous evening was still hanging thinly over the town, the dull light providing an eerie atmosphere. Which, as it turns out, appeared to be somewhat appropriate, considering that as Yu walked past the end of a street, he found it cordoned off by police, who were moving a body bag into the back of an ambulance. As Yu wandered up to the barrier that had been placed across the end of the street, he spotted his uncle talking to a girl who appeared to also be a Yasogami High second year. They appeared to have finished their conversation, and as Dojima turned around, he saw Yu staring over at him, and so walked up to the barrier on the opposite side to Yu.

“What are you doing, hanging around here? This is a crime scene, and besides, aren’t you supposed to be going to school?” Dojima’s tone was harsh, but sounded more tired than angry. A younger man, with tousled hair and an unkempt suit, came up behind Dojima and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Leave the kid alone, Dojima-san, he hasn’t been here for long. Besides, it’s not like he crossed the barrier.”

“Shut up, Adachi,” Dojima said as he shrugged the other detective’s hand off, eyes rolled skywards, before looking back at Yu. “Just go to school,” he said before turning around and walking off again.

“Sorry about that,” said the other detective - Adachi, Dojima had called him - “Dojima-san there can be rather prickly while at work.” His voice was a tiny bit nasal, and had a very easy going tone. “Wait, are you Dojima-san’s nephew? The one he said was staying with him for the year?” Yu responded with his characteristic nod and grunt, causing Adachi to shrug nonchalantly. “I guess that explains his lack of formalities. Well, I already know your name seeins as he told me, so let me introduce myself. I’m Tohru Adachi, a detective currently with the Inaba police force and your uncle’s investigative partner.”

“Nice to meet you, Adachi-san,” Yu said as the two shook hands, before walking off, back on the route to school

 

/ / / / /

 

Unlike the previous morning, due to his stopping to have a look at the crime scene, Yu was only at homeroom a few minutes before the bell was due to go. Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko were already sitting in their place and talking intently as he made his way to his seat. As he sat down, Chie turned to him excitedly.

“Narukami! Have you heard?” she asked intently, “About the murder?” Yu nodded slightly, unsurprised, having already seen the crime scene.

“Yeah, I walked past the crime scene on the way to school,” he said, “Just as they were bagging up the body. My uncle’s working the case.”

“Wait,” said Yosuke, taken aback, “You’re uncle’s working on the murder case?”

“Yeah,” said Yu, shrugging, “He’s a detective. Ryotaro Dojima.”

“Your uncle is Dojima-san?” Chie asked emphatically, and Yu nodded in reply. “From what I hear, he’s almost always at work and almost never at home. I feel sorry for his daughter.”

“Nanako seems to cope,” said Yu, “She has a very strong personality.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen her around, she seems nice,” said Chie, “But about the murder, has the body been identified?”

“I don’t know,” said Yu, “They were already bagging it when I got there, and Dojima told me to leave the instant he saw me.”

“Ah shame,” Chie started, but she was almost immediately cut off by Yosuke.

“Look sharp! It’s Morooka!” All of them spun around to face the front and avoid a yelling from their homeroom tutor.

“Let's meet on the roof at lunch,” whispered Yosuke to the others; “We can talk more then without King Moron interrupting.”

 

/ / / / /

 

Yu had just grabbed his lunch from his locker when Yosuke walked up and clapped his hand to Yu’s shoulder. Yu didn't mind that, in fact he appreciated the friendly, reassuring physical contact.

“You hadn't forgotten about our plan to talk more on the roof, had you?” Yosuke asked him.

“Not at all. I was just out to head the right now.”

“Cool, we can god up together then. Follow me!” Yosuke beckoned, leading Yu up the staircase to the top of the school. When they got there, Chie and Yukiko hadn't arrived yet, so the two boys picked a spot and sat down next to each other. Both took out there lunches, but when they opened them, Yosuke immediately jerked upright and stared at Yu.

“Damn, that stuff smells amazing! Can I have a bit?”

“Yeah, sure I made it myself,” said Yu, who had made the ramen the previous evening.

“Woah dude, you can cook?” Yosuke looked and sounded surprised, but as Yu began to tell him yes, Chie and Yukiko turned up and said hi again, sitting down and beginning on their own lunches. Once they all felt reasonably refilled, Yosuke sat forward slightly, looking intently around the others.

“So, there’s been a murder in Inaba,” he began, “But not only that, and don’t hound me over this Chie, but… My curiosity got the better of me last night, and I think we need to talk about the Midnight channel rumour.”

“So you saw it too then?” Chie asked, sounding sincerely surprised, “Then it wasn’t just tiredness and my imagination making me see things!”

“I watched the TV in the Amagi inn lobby, and I saw it too,” said Yukiko. “It appears the rumour was in fact true, and there really  _ is _ a Midnight Channel. What did you all see? I saw a woman who looked oddly like that reporter who was staying at our inn and went missing during the night, Mayumi Yamano.”

“Oh so you saw the same thing?” Chie asked, looking relieved. “I was worried that the soulmate part was true too. She did look a lot older than me.”

“Aww, so it doesn’t show your soulmate?” Yosuke sounded disappointed. “I thought it looked a bit like Saki-senpai, although now I think about it that’s probably stretching it…”

“Who is Saki?” Yu asked, not recognising the name.

“Oh, Saki Konishi is a girl in the year above who Yosuke's  _ totally _ in love with.” Chie directed the mocking 'totally’ at Yosuke, who gave a noise of offense. “Seems like it's an actual emotional connection too, rather than just him being horny as usual.” This last remark triggered a small shouting match between her and Yosuke, but both stopped talking altogether when Yu started speaking again.

“I saw the Midnight Channel and Mayumi Yamano too, but I saw something more too. She seemed to be in a lot of pain and surrounded by flames, and when I reached out towards the screen, something like fire jumped from the screen to my hand and started pulling me in. I think I would have gone the whole way into the screen if it hadn't been for the fact that it was too small for me to fit through.” He decided not to mention the demonic voice - the story already sounded crazy enough as it is. It was probably the right decision, as all three gave him progressively weirder looks as he told the story. After he finished, there was silence for a moment, before Yosuke burst out laughing. The laugh was warm and friendly, and easily broke the tension that the discussion of murders and the supernatural. 

“You’re joking, right?” Yosuke asked, clearly thinking that the answer to that question would be in the negative.

“No. I’m absolutely serious.” All three stared at him again, mouths open, before Yosuke chuckled again.

“Well, if it’s true then you should have no problem showing us, right?” he said as he gave Yu a friendly, teasing grin. “Let’s all meet up at Junes after school, and you can show us in the electronics section.” Everyone agreed on the arrangement, and went back to discussing the murder case.

 

/ / / / /

 

Yosuke, Chie and Yu were all sat around a table in the Junes food court waiting for Yukiko. Yosuke had a little smile on his face, and kept glancing around the food court seemingly in anticipation of something. Yu was about to ask him who or what he was looking for, when the question suddenly answered itself as Yosuke spotted something and stood up, shoving his chair back sharply. Yu followed his gaze, and found a girl walking around the corner of the building. She had long, slightly wavy hair, a soft face and expression, and was wearing a Junes employee uniform.

“Hey, Saki-senpai!” Yosuke called out to her, waving. Yu remembered what Chie had said earlier about Saki Konishi, how Yosuke was in love with her. Saki lifted her head up, clearly recognising Yosuke’s voice, and walked over to their table.

“Hi Yosuke-kun, what do you want?” Her voice was calm, quiet, and rather tired, but she kept a smile on her face when talking to Yosuke.

“Oh, I just wanted to ask how you’re doing. I’m guessing those two avoided their shift again, huh.”

“Yeah, they did.” Saki’s face fell a little, and she sighed heavily, but then she perked up again. “But it’s fine, I can handle the work. Other than that, I’m doing OK. How about you?”

“Oh I’m doing pretty good right now, especially considering…” Yosuke drew out the thing he had been handling in his jacket pocket - it was a pair of tickets. “I’ve got these!” he said triumphantly, holding them out towards Saki. She looked at them for a moment, before something clicked in her head, and her face brightened as she looked up at Yosuke.

“Oh, I mentioned to you that I wanted to wanted to see that film, didn’t I?”

“Yeah! And I managed to get ahold of tickets before they sold out!” Yosuke was grinning, clearly very happy with himself. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go and see it together?”

“I’d love to!” Saki said as she smiled at Yosuke. “I’ve got to get back to my shift now, but I’ll text you about it, OK?” Yosuke fist pumped as Saki walked off to where she had been going, clearly over the moon with his achievement. Chie’s mouth was hanging open in clear amazement. After a moment she collected herself enough to talk;

“Wow, she actually said yes? I was expecting a kind rejection!” Yosuke was clearly offended by this, but she continued talking before he could start arguing. “Anyway, while you were having your moment, I got a text from Yukiko saying she can’t make it because of some stuff at the inn.”

“That’s a shame,” said Yosuke, “But oh well, she’s probably not gonna miss much anyway.”

 

/ / / / /

 

As it turned out, Yukiko was missing a lot. Yosuke had stopped joking two seconds ago, when he turned back round from staring around Junes’ electronics section to see Yu with his hand stuck into a large flatscreen TV, wreathed in flames. Both he and Chie began to freak out all together when Yu proceeded to stick his entire head and shoulders into the TV out of curiosity as to whether it could actually be done.

“Holy shit!” Chie yelled.

“What the hell do we do?” Yosuke panicked

“What if someone sees this?”

“I don’t know!”

As they freaked out, Yosuke and Chie ran in circles, back and forth, Yu still with his head in the TV. And then, by sheer bad luck, Yosuke and Chie crashed into each other and barreled into the back of Yu, causing all three to tumble headlong into the screen.

 

/ / / / /

 

Psychadelic shapes and colours swirled around the trio as they fell into the unknown, like a portal effect from some old film. However, through the colourful mix Yu could see a raging inferno, like the one he had seen consuming Mayumi Yamano on the midnight channel. He didn’t have long to think about this though, as all of them soon came to an abrupt halt as they collided with what appeared to be a floor. They stood up to get their bearings, but the landscape around them was enshrouded in a thick fog, preventing them from distinguishing anything other than vague shapes. And then, as they stared around, one of these shapes shifted slightly, and opened its eyes.


End file.
